I'm a bit late to the game with my review because there was a postal strike, so I didn't receive my order until last weekend. I did see a few unboxings and reviews on Instagram so I knew what to expect - unfortunately, people's initial impressions ranged from mixed to negative, and sadly I'll have to echo that sentiment. I say sadly, but I'm actually pretty annoyed, so read on...
I purchased the items from Tenso via Wunderwelt. As usual, Wunderwelt provided a very good purchasing experience and my items arrived very quickly to my Tenso warehouse. No complaints about their service. Not much else to say here, so let's move along.
Thank you for your valuable contribution, Z.
St. Peter's Cross Lace OTKs
I didn't pick up the white x blue colourway.
White x White
Black x Blue
Black x Black
Black x White
Upon first impression the socks don't differ significantly from the original release from 2006: lace-topped OTKs with an unfinished tulle edge and a satin ribbon decoration on the side. The sock material is the same stretchy, sturdy fabric that they've used previously for their lace-topped OTKs. These ones feel pretty tight and the elastic is very snappy, but I'm not sure if that's because they're brand new or because they're actually smaller. Either way, they will definitely feel tight on someone with bigger calves. They fit me very snugly.
The elastic lands right along the top of my kneecaps, so they want to roll down a bit.
Overall, I'm more-or-less happy with these even though I think they're a little bit lower quality than I would expect from the brand.
M+CROIX Lace Hair Clip
AAAAAA he's beautiful!!
Look at all that soft, fluffy lace!! The roses are silky, but stiff enough that they hold their shape well.
The M+CROIX Lace Hair Clip features a bundle of roses on a canotier made of layered Cross Arch and Holy Cross lace. The back has a pin as well as a hair clip so it could be worn as a giant brooch, since it's about as large as my outstretched hand. The roses are attached on wires sewn into the lace, so they can be moved around a little bit. There's also a tiny gold cross peeking out from underneath the roses, which is beautifully detailed and heavy. The lace is soft and thick, on par with my older pieces that have the same lace designs, so they must have used old leftovers to make these headdresses. The item page says that they were handmade by the brand staff, which made me oddly happy and gave me a cute mental image of a bunch of gothic lolitas meticulously sewing in a candelit room together.
I'd been looking for a white Moitie canotier for a long time, so I was excited to get my hands on this. Key word being was. Last night I was at a concert - Ghost was playing at the Sony Centre, which was an absolutely amazing experience! - and while I was filming it my MMM phone case broke apart and I nearly dropped my phone onto the concrete floor. This is the phone case I bought in September at Eternal Twilight, so it's not even 3 months old at this point. The glue that holds the phone in the case is dried up in places and the sliding clip is messed up and won't slide properly anymore. I have to be careful or it launches the phone right out of the case. I barely used the slide feature at all, so I have no idea how it even broke.
Anyway, I was telling this story to a friend the next day while showing her the M+CROIX hair clip as I was getting ready to leave, and she joked that the hair clip was going to be the next thing to break. Lo and behold, the hair clip broke off 2 hours later, upon my very first time wearing the damn thing.
Welp.
The clip is just hot glued straight onto the lace. I'm afraid to pull the glob of glue off because I have no idea if the gathers in the lace are held together by the glue or if they're actually stitched together. I'm just glad I was indoors so it fell into my lap instead of onto the dirty street. I can easily fix it myself, but it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Am I being dramatic about such a small flaw? Maybe a little bit, but this is just poorly designed. A headdress this big should be secured by something sturdier! Even a small piece of fabric or felt to stitch a clip or comb to could have worked well.
My friend Kaitlynn (@fawndolly) decided to spend a day downtown together! She lives in a nearby city, so it's always a bit of an adventure for her to visit me in Toronto. We visted Teddy Story, which, as far as I know, is the only teddy-themed cafe in the city.
Kaitlynn outside of Teddy Story. It's actually way bigger inside than it appears!
The cute menu!
In addition to coffee, tea, and cute desserts, they sell absolutely adorable collectable teddy bears from the Thai brand Teddy House. We visited before Halloween, but we were greeted by a Christmas-themed bear.
Barrels of bears! Look at all the cute tiny clothing!
Tiny bee bears!
After taking about a billion photos, we decided to have cake and coffee. I had the strawberry shortcake cappuccino and a slice of Godiva chocolate cheesecake while Kaitlynn ordered the rose milk tea with a truffle royal mousse cake. The seating area was very small, so it felt a bit crowded as there were a few couples inside the cafe with us. Once they left, it felt intimate and cozy. There was an old cartoon (Corduroy Bear or Teddy Ruxpin, maybe? I can't remember) displayed with a projector on the wall, with soft classical music playing.
They had a great variety of cakes and sweets, but the menu was pretty light on the savories.
Kinda want these chairs and tables for my patio.
Aesthetic.
Teddy bear latte art.
The cheesecake slice was deceptively big. I skipped lunch.
The cheesecake was rich and heavy, just how I like it. It was so delicious! The strawberry shortcake cappuccino didn't really taste very strawberry-y, but it definitely had a sweet and milky flavour compared to your typical cappuccino. I was really pleased with the food, and it was quite reasonably priced given the downtown location and the generous size of the slice.
After stuffing ourselves we decided to take a few coordinate shots, and then we wandered around downtown for a bit before doing some shopping in the Eaton Centre, also known as the seventh level of retail hell.
Kaitlynn wearing AP Daydream Bed.
Me wearing MMM Falling Cross. I look tired and beat to hell because I was!
I hope you enjoyed this mini-post! I'd like to keep posting blog entries about my tiny casual meets, so stay tuned for more.
Click here to read my post about Day 1 of Eternal Twilight! Today I'll be covering Day 2 of Eternal Twilight: the Shakespearean Night tea party and the Nightfall afterparty. I had this post in my queue and I accidentally set the date to way in the future so it was never actually available to read. I've backdated it so that it shows up in the correct order in the navigation, but...d'oh. Sadly, a huge chunk of my photos from this event just disappeared from my phone and I can't find them, even in my cloud backup. I'm actually really upset about it because a lot of them were really sentimental...
We weren't quite used to the time zone change yet, so we all ended up waking up way too early. The day before was such a rush that it was nice to just take our time to get our hair and makeup done. We headed out to Svenska Klubben by tram (actually, we ran into Mana and his entourage at the tram stop...he must have been staying in the hotel next to ours since we bumped into him 3 times!) and arrived about an hour before the doors were set to open. The surrounding area was pretty quiet despite being near a major road. It looks like Helsinki isn't very lively on Sundays, as many shops weren't open at all and there was almost no traffic. We took the opportunity to take some goofy photos on the street.
I was feeling pretty lazy and wanted to be comfy after the exhausting day previous. I did a shiro nun coordinate, which really has nothing to do with the theme at all, but I wanted to be comfy and I hadn't brought along enough accessories for an OTT look.
Shakespearean Night Tea Party at Svenska Klubben
Svenska Klubben is a historical building located near the waterfront of Helsinki. It's beautifully decorated inside. My favourite area was the bar/lounge because it looks like a movie set!
We all crammed into the ground floor of Svenska Klubben for a toast with sparkling wine, then headed upstairs towars the dining room so we could start eating. Shortly after, the special guests of honour, Babi and Kaie of Triple Fortune, arrived and took their seats. Our table setting had a black Gothic Arch print file folder, a Triple Fortune placemat, and a Triple Fortune printed fan. We actually ended up sitting a few seats down from Babi and Kaie, which was very lucky! At the end of the party, Babi and Kaie came up to my friends to compliment them on how their outfits really made them look like dark Shakespearean villainesses ❤
Table setting with a Triple Fortune placemat and fan, Gothic Arch folder, program, and coupons from Teja Jamila.
Instead of serving ourselves, we lined up and served ourselves buffet-style. I've never been to a tea party with a buffet, but it was awesome and filling. It was too crowded to get a photo of the buffet table, but they had popular Finnish foods such as rispirog (rice pies), smoked salmon, and berry pie. There was also an assortment of cheese, meats, salads, and bread. Me being me, I basically filled my plate with rispirog covered in eggs and cheese because that just seemed like the right thing to do.
@vudu_juju wearing a golden I Do Declare OP and a Hysteria Machine crown.
After we ate, there was a performance of traditional Japanese dance. I was far back enough that I couldn't see anything at all, though, so I can't really comment on it, the organizers held a raffle. The first prizes given away were private kabedon photos with Babi and Kaie. Several girls were whisked away by Babi and Kaie and returned laughing and blushing. They also awarded a prize to their favourite Shakespearean coordinate. The winner was wearing a Triple Fortune dress with roses and lillies and a handmade floral halo crown. Those were apparently Shakespeare's favourite flowers, according to Triple Fortune.
Me looking incredibly nervous in a corner.
Afterparty at Gloria and Brilliant Kingdom Performance
Gloria is a small bar/performance venue in downtown Helsinki. The night before, Kamijo had a small concert that we didn't attend. The bottom floor features a stage and dance floor, and the upper floor has the bar and seating area. Flanking the bar on both sides were balconies in a semicircle overlooking the stage and dance floor. The layout reminded me of the Asylum bar in Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, if you have played that game. My favourite part about Gloria was the black and white tiled floors paired with the giant red doors - it was very reminiscent of the Beast of Blood MV (which was in turn inspired by Twin Peaks). The lighting wasn't good enough to get a good coordinate shot, but . We met a group of Russians who were super excited to learn that the Slav squat had become a meme overseas, so naturally we had to squat with them.
Quick snap from my Instagram.
They were serving Eternal Twilight-themed drinks based on Mana and Brilliant Kingdom! Drinks in Helsinki are expensive. Each of these drinks was 7.50 Euro. ranted, everything is expensive, but it's so much cheaper to drink in Toronto. The Mana drink was aesthetically pleasing (so blue!) but not very tasty to be honest...and that's as someone who loves tonic in drinks. I went for the Brilliant Prince drink which was quite tasty, and quite a few shots as well. There was a black licorice drink but I didn't have it since I prefer my licorice to be uh...solid.
Also, Finns can drink us Canadians under the table.
The Brilliant Price (ginger ale, lime, and whiskey), the Mana (vodka, blue curacao, and tonic water), and some random shot.
After milling around, socializing, and drinking for an hour or two, the afterparty programming again. As the afterparty was 18+, the programming was definitely a little bit racy! There were several burlesque and striptease performances, so it was tons of fun to watch. For obvious reasons, I'm not going to post the photos. My personal highlight of the night: the burlesque performer ripped her blouse open to release a cloud of rose petals and rose nipple pasties, all to the tune of Malice Mizer.
Babi and Kaie singing as Brilliant Kingdom!
After a few hours of milling around,Brilliant Kingdom, Triple Fortune's music and fashion performance group, put on a fantastic show. I wasn't able to get many clear photos (I mean I was drunkenly trying to take photos on my phone from the balcony) but thankfully the official Hellocon photographer was there to save the day! All credit for these photos goes to Sanni Siira.
We took a break from dancing and decided to go sit out on the balcony we were in previously only to find Mana and his entourage - Mana standing, entourage dancing and cheering. I guess they'd been watching the whole time! I hope he was happy to see that people still really enjoy his music.
That just about wraps up my discussion of Eternal Twilight, so I hope you enjoyed reading about my Finland adventure. We did end up staying for a few days to explore Helsinki, but I haven't had time to write about all of the other things we did. I can't wait to go back! This was my first time in Europe and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Until next time, Finland!
Hello bats! I've just returned from the airport and I'm trapped in bed with an awful cold and a stomach bug, so I figure now is as good a time as any to write up my trip report. As many of you probably already know, my friends and I flew to Finland for Eternal Twilight (Hellocon 2018), an annual lolita event held in Helsinki.
This was my first time attending a large, exclusively lolita event, and it was also my first time in Europe. Actually, it was my first time taking a major trip without a family member...I've gone on trips to other provinces or to the USA by myself, but never overseas. It was a bit stressful, but everything went pretty smoothly!
Opening Ceremony Mana Q&A
Instead of getting a paper ticket or plastic card pass, we got a cute Mana pinback button as a ticket. Different ticket tiers had different Mana portraits - I wish I could have grabbed the other ones! The blue pin was for VIP ticket holders. VIPs also got a tote bag with some stickers and flyers inside.
The bat clips are mine, and the Gothic Arch clear file is from another event.
They got his resting bitch face down pat.
The programming of the day began with a Q&A with Mana and his staff. The questions were not very spicy. A lot of it was kind of stuff we've heard many times before - "what inspires you?" "Why do you like blue?" etc. The highlight of the Q&A was actually a special surprise - since Mana doesn't speak, Kamijo was invited to recite Mana's answers instead! He kept making the Japanese equivalent of dad jokes and hearing him say "Kawaii!" was precious. Sadly, I had to take off halfway through the Mana Q&A to get ready for the fashion show.
Mana Q&A session. Mana is wearing Demonia Stacks, haha! Taken from the MMM official twitter.
During the first model fitting on Friday, Mana himself showed up! He kept to himself in the corner, staying on his phone and talking to his staff quietly. He was wearing his "casual disguise" (hat and sunglasses) and was probably pretty tired and jet-lagged, like us. I was so surprised to hear his real voice! It didn't sound like I imagined it would - I always imagined it would be one of those super dramatic, resonating voices for some reason but it was actually more high-pitched and slightly nasal...so a very normal Japanese male voice, pretty much. It was very cute.
I remember one of the Wunderwelt staff telling me that normally they wouldn't put someone in a dress they already own, but they really wanted me to wear white, so I was chosen to wear the short version of the new Cross OP in white. I'm happy I got a light and comfy dress since it was very hot backstage...some of the poor girls were wearing long-sleeved blouses under OPs with wigs. Mana was present during the backstage preparations, which made us all a little bit nervous!
For styling, I was asked to do my makeup in light gold with blue accents like a "messenger from God" (how fitting for a heathen like me!) and to put my natural hair in twintails. I used ABH Modern Renaissance eyeshadows, Nyx's Pinched blush, and Sephora's Lip Creme in Marvellous Mauve.
The accessories I got to wear were pretty awesome. Rose Cross Original Lace Headdress and the matching Rose Cross Original Lace Choker, both from 2007. I've been wanting this headdress for a long time but I've never seen it in person. As you can see, it's absolutely massive, even on my big head. I also wore the Holy Cross Lace Up OTKs in white, which I desperately want and will probably never touch again. Haha~
The runway was shaped like a cross and decorated with crosses and bats.
All of the models lined up on the blue cross stage, with Mana at the centre. Taken from the MMM official Twitter.
Posing in Paasitorni's stairway after the fashion show with Mana! Taken from the MMM official Twitter.
We got a sneak peek at 3 new releases during the fashion show. Firstly, we have two new colourways of Sleeping Garden, which will be available in a long and short version. The first colourway is a pinky-orange to purple gradient, and the second colourway is green. It has been officially confirmed by WW staff but no official photos have been released yet. It was really exciting to see them in person. The green blouse with the frilled collar/jabot worn by Mana is also a new item that will be available soon.
I also hope that because Silent Moon was included in the fashion show that they're hinting at a re-release, maybe? Possibly? I'm trying to collect every cut and colourway. Right now I only have black x gold and black x blue so I would basically die of happiness if this were the case!
Update: Apparently when someone asked if they could buy one of the Silent Moon dresses from the fashion show, staff indicated that a re-release of Silent Moon is in the works. My prayers have been answered!
Unfortunately I don't have clear photos of the fashion show, so I hope this video gives you guys a good idea - thanks to FreakyAngel for compiling the video! Click here or go to 11:43 to skip ahead to the fashion show. You can see how I completely fucked up the timing at the end of the Puvithel walk and turn around like an idiot. This was my first time modelling so I was a little bit (read: terribly) nervous as we didn't have much chance to practice.
I really like Puvithel's designs.She is really creative and I love how she pulls off decora, menhera, and lolita so well! I modelled her Slaughterhouse JSK in white. She also made the beautiful iridescent pink heart necklace and waist chain in my outfit!
Ending Ceremony and Mana Meet and Greet
At the end of the fashion I finally had a chance to rejoin my friends and sit to watch the tail end of the programming but I was totally exhausted since I hadn't eaten all day and my allergy meds were kicking in hard. I ended up drifting in and out of sleep during most of this part, basically only waking up to sneeze...damn Finnish trees!
The highlight of this event was definitely getting to meet Mana in person! My friends and I all had VIP tickets so we got to go in ahead of the raffle ticket winners. We lined up outside of a small room and waited to be called in. Once it was my turn, the WW staff member gestured me inside and closed the door.
Mana was standing inside of the small room. Of course, he did not talk, but he took my hands very firmly in his and stared into my eyes very intensely. I was really anxious so I didn't have anything to say except "Thank you so much, Mana-sama!" like the awkward dork that I am. He the handed me a rose with a Moi-meme-Moitie ribbon tied around the stem (I immediately stabbed myself on the thorns because I'm dumb). His face was quite stoic the whole time, but he looked at me and gave me what I'd like to think was an approving nod, and he seemed to like my Bara No Seidou pin as well.
Everyone who had a VIP ticket or winning raffle ticket received a rose and a signed photo. You could bring other items for him to sign, so I asked for him to sign the cover of my Magnifique photo book. I had been debating between bringing a copy of GLB #1 or the book, but I was worried about the magazine getting squashed in my luggage, so Magnifique it was!
The spoils of war! My signed copy of Magnifique, signed catalogue, Jewel Cross pendant, phone strap, and rose.
I've never seen this phone strap before. Maybe it's a new item, or really old stock? They don't have a whole lot of them.
A few interesting pages from the catalogue. Pajamas, an apron, bloomers, and jewellery!
Shopping
I barely had time to browse the vendors because I was tied up with the 2 fashion shows back-to-back. Firstly, I picked up my preorder from Lady Sloth - the My Spooky Macarons OP in orange with the matching headbow. It's soft and lightweight, so not ideal for Halloween weather, but it's adorable and super comfy.
Lady Sloth My Spooky Macarons OP and matching headbow
Look at the cute ghost kitty necklace it came with!
Puvithel was kind enough to give me a goodie bag as a thank you for modelling!
Inside the zippered pouch were some cute pins, an iron-on patch, and these awesome syringe pens. I also bought the rose ring from her booth.
The phone strap looks cute with the case! It juuuust barely fits my OnePlus.
Lastly, I grabbed a few small accessories: Metamorphose Fluttering Ribbon Lace OTKs, a black and gold headdress from Sweet Mildred, and a zippered pouch from Eat Me Ink Me.
I finally have a proper black x gold headdress after being in the fashion for...4 years now?
After the event wrapped up, people started heading out for the Kamijo concert and meet and greet planned for later that evening. I didn't get tickets because I'd already seen Versailles back home in Toronto pretty recently (I also ran into the band in a restaurant after the concert and got to talk to them a little bit, which was awesome!). In retrospect, I'm really glad I didn't go because I was so exhausted that I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it very much. Instead we got into comfy clothes and went to an Italian restaurant near our hotel, where we ran into Mana's entourage! He eats really slowly. It's precious.
That just about sums up my report on Day 1 of Eternal Twilight! I'll be back soon with a post about the Shakespearean Night tea party and the rest of my Finland escapades. Maybe after I recover...
Hello bats! For today's Lolita Blog Carnival I'll be discussing my thoughts on solids vs. prints.
Even though a huge chunk of my wardrobe is made up of prints (I'm a slut for black x navy prints), I'm gonna have to vote for Team Solid. Why? Well, there are a couple of reasons...
A few of my favourite coordinates with solid dresses.
1) Solids are perfect for daily wear.
Solids are easy to wear on a daily basis because they're way easier to camouflage as normie wear - a plain black OP wouldn't attract nearly as much attention as something like Milky Planet. You don't need to worry about matching accessories to the colours in the print, since you can match them with nearly anything and call it a day. Solids are so easy to coordinate, and so versatile in that you can pair them with plain or printed accessories in much wider range of colours.
The best part - if you throw them in the wash, you don't have to worry so much about bleeding colours or melting screen prints! Nothing sadder than watching Berry Bunny turn into Bloody Bunny because you forgot your colour catcher sheet.
2) Solids are accessible.
Solids are plentiful and cheap - in the age of prints, the value of a lot of solid dresses has decreased significantly. It's easy to find perfectly wearable dresses in good condition for $100 or less, especially on Japanese auction sites. This makes solid dresses a great option for anyone who is looking to pad out a wardrobe with more "wearable" everyday pieces, or for newbies who aren't fully confident in their ability to coordinate.
One of the most painful things about lolita fashion is waiting months (if not years) for a rare print series to come up for sale. While some solid dresses are extremely hard to find, especially if they're old, very few are as sought after as the holy grail print dresses, and rarely command ridiculously high prices. Even pricier brands like Atelier Boz and Moitie tend to hover around retail or lower for their solid dresses.
3) Solids showcase good design.
I think solids allow the craftsmanship, design, and creativity to shine. It's easy to create a great illustration (well, it's not - but you know what I'm getting at) and slap it on a boring dress and call it a day. Creating a visually interesting, creative dress without using prints is a little trickier since designers have to rely on arranging generic detailing like ruffles, pintucks, etc. in a unique way. Playing with different textures, transclucent fabrics, asymmetry, layering, removable parts...there are lots of ways to make a dress interesting without using a print.
Atelier Boz's nun-inspired Giulietta OP in Black x Black. In my opinion, Atelier Boz, Sheglit, and Atelier Pierrot
are the undisputed masters of beautiful, aesthetically pleasing solid
dresses. (I'll give you Victorian Maiden, Mary Magdalene, and Innocent
World if you're more of a classic fan.)
I also wanted to share a few thoughts on prints...
Newbies to lolita may not know this, but early lolita was nowhere
near as print-centric as it is right now. In the early-to-mid-2000s the
overwhelming majority of dresses across all substyles were solids.
Details were typically added with contrasting fabric and trims,
appliques, and patterened or textured fabrics. Prints, if used at all,
were usually simple border prints.
Mana wearing the Cross Print JSK - one of Moitie's (and lolita's) earliest and most iconic prints.
I think it's a bit strange that lolita has become so hyperfocused on
prints to the point that people will buy a dress purely because of the
print and not because of the fit, cut, or details...which are also
important parts of lolita fashion. A lot of cheaper Taobao brands pump out cute, unique,
well-drawn prints at a breakneck pace but take shortcuts with quality
and overall design...essentially, slapping a cute print on a badly sewn, badly
designed dress. Great concept, poor execution.
Don't take this as me hating on Taobao prints, or prints in general. I just frown when I see people focusing on a gimmicky print at the expense of...well, everything else. Prints aren't everything, and that's coming from someone who is desperately trying to collect every single cut and colourway of Silent Moon and Iron Gate.
It is what it is - there's a place for both solids and prints in lolita, and even if I sound salty about print supremacy...the truth is that I'm still a slut for prints and will continue to hoard favourites even though I mostly buy solids now.
